SEATTLE, June 10- Revealing its price tag for the first time, Microsoft Corp will sell a bigger version of its new, wall-mounted video-conferencing and digital whiteboard device for $20,000, making it the most expensive product in its hardware line-up, the software company said on Wednesday. Orders start July 1 for the Surface Hub, which Microsoft hopes will...

LOS ANGELES, June 10- One of the largest companies to manufacture solar panels in the United States uses a surprising resource to keep costs low and compete against producers from China: prison labor. Suniva Inc, a Georgia- based solar cell and panel maker that is backed by Goldman Sachs Group Inc, farms out a small portion of its manufacturing to federal inmates as...

NEW YORK, June 9- Nike Inc has settled a lawsuit against three former shoe designers it had accused of stealing its commercial secrets and taking them to German rival Adidas AG with plans to open a footwear design studio in Brooklyn. Nike, the world's largest sportswear maker, sued Denis Dekovic, Marc Dolce and Mark Miner last December for at least $10 million in...

June 8- Apple Inc is setting up a high-speed network and upgrading how it builds data centers, to compete better with Amazon.com Inc, Google Inc and Microsoft Corp in cloud services, Bloomberg reported, citing people familiar with the plans. The plan entails connecting Apple's data centers in California, Nevada, North Carolina and Oregon, and others to get content...

SAN FRANCISCO, June 4- Seattle- based Madrona Venture Group said it has raised $300 million for a new fund, its sixth, drawing on the growing start-up community in the backyard it shares with Amazon.com Inc and Microsoft Corp.. Those entrepreneurs benefit from Amazon's and Microsoft's diversification beyond their narrow beginnings. "If you go back certainly 10...

NEW YORK, May 28- Allison Armour loves fashion, but doesn't need to keep it in her closet. Armour, a marketing manager for a nonprofit in Oakland, California, has picked up skirts and shirts, Oxford shoes for $30, a J.Crew trench coat for $40 and a Dooney& Bourke satchel for $150, less than half its retail price. About 85 percent of people aged 18 to 34 own them, according to...

NEW YORK, May 28- Allison Armor loves fashion, but doesn't need to keep it in her closet. Armor, a marketing manager for a nonprofit in Oakland, California, has picked up skirts and shirts, Oxford shoes for $30, a J.Crew trench coat for $40 and a Dooney& Bourke satchel for $150, less than half its retail price. About 85 percent of people aged 18 to 34 own them, according to...

WASHINGTON, May 22- A group of 18 mostly Democratic U.S. senators on Friday urged the Obama administration to stop Royal Dutch Shell's preparations for oil exploration in the Arctic, saying the region has a severely limited capacity to respond to accidents. The appeal was spearheaded by Senator Jeff Merkley of Oregon and the letter was signed by other liberals,...

PORTLAND, Ore., May 22- Oregon Governor Kate Brown expanded the state's drought emergency to eight more counties on Friday amid a devastating West Coast drought and warned that water shortages could be imminent and a tough fire season may be ahead. The new Oregon counties listed in a drought emergency are Deschutes, Grant, Jackson, Josephine, Lane, Morrow, Umatilla...

The Republican-controlled House of Representatives Appropriations Committee rejected a Democratic bid to provide Amtrak the full $2.45 billion in funds for the upcoming fiscal year requested in President Barack Obama's budget. The cause of Tuesday's crash has only begun to be investigated, but federal investigators said preliminary data showed the...

*White House calls setback "snafu," vows to continue battle. Failure to clinch a U.S.-led TPP agreement could also damage Washington's leadership image in Asia, where China is forging ahead with a new Beijing-led Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank without the participation of the United States and Japan. The Senate voted 52-45- short of the 60 votes needed- to...

*Nebraska becomes 16th U.S. state affected by avian flu. May 12- The fast-spreading avian flu virus was confirmed for the first time in Nebraska, at a commercial egg-laying farm that housed a flock of 1.7 million chickens, the U.S. Department of Agriculture said on Tuesday. "Unfortunately, Nebraska has joined a long list of states currently dealing with highly...

*White House calls setback "snafu," vows to continue battle. "What we just saw here is pretty shocking," said Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, a Republican, after the Senate voted 52-45- short of the 60 votes needed- against paving the way for debate on "fast-track" trade authority for Obama. The vote marked a victory for Senate Democratic leader Harry Reid, an...

President Barack Obama authority to speed trade deals through Congress failed a crucial procedural test on Tuesday, delaying a measure that may be key to President Barack Obama's diplomatic pivot to Asia. In a setback to the White House trade agenda, the Senate voted 52-45- eight votes short of the necessary 60- to clear the way for debate on the legislation, which...